Palantir, the NHS and the rise of Big Tech

Bobby Dean explains that he is very worried about our personal data given the country's dependence on American technology companies.

I am deeply sceptical not only of Palantir’s role in the UK public sector, but our country’s increasing reliance on a handful of US based tech companies 

Palantir is an American company involved in various activities of the Trump administration. Their founders have made appalling, controversial political statements. But politics aside, it’s their lack of transparency and Britain’s sovereignty that concerns me the most.

NHS England runs the Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) that connects health information to support, for example, managing operations and discharges from hospitals. Some of the data collected is identifiable to individuals.

Doctors and the public have made it clear they don’t trust the latest Palantir contract and they were right to question it. Recently we have heard that some of the initial reporting of the FDP’s effectiveness was inaccurate. More worryingly, despite promises that they couldn’t, employees of Palantir have been able to access identifiable patient information. These are just some of the issues around the use of obscure “AI” and other technology from companies over which we have little control.

The NHS belongs to all of us and handing sensitive health data to a foreign tech company should concern us all. We should be building our own secure systems here in the UK so we keep control of our data. My Liberal Democrat colleagues have already raised this in Parliament, including the need for transparency, public trust, vendor lock-in and asking whether Palantir is the right company to be running such sensitive NHS infrastructure. 

There will be sensible ways for the NHS to use data better, whether that is cutting delays, joining up services or improving care. But that does not mean dropping sensitive patient data into a black box and hoping for the best. The public deserves proper transparency, proper legal safeguards, and proper parliamentary scrutiny. 

I will keep pressing for the Government to make sure the 2027 break clause in the Palantir contract with the NHS is treated as a real review, not a rubber stamp. If Ministers cannot show that this contract is safe, transparent, and in the public interest, then it should not just roll on. 

– Bobby Dean